Meeting Meaningful Use Stage 2

This is an excerpt from the November 30th, 2011 news release from HHS announcing the extension of the Stage 2 Meaningful Use deadline to 2014 for hospitals and EPs meeting Stage 1 in 2011 and 2012. The news release also announces additional resources for RECs, provides rates of adoption of health IT for the past two years, and expands on the job creation and improvement to the healthcare system HHS attributes to the HITEC Act. To read the entire release, click here.

Cleveland, OH —Under the current requirements, eligible doctors and hospitals that begin participating in the Medicare EHR (electronic health record) Incentive Programs this year would have to meet new standards for the program in 2013.

If they did not participate in the program until 2012, they could wait to meet these new standards until 2014 and still be eligible for the same incentive payment.

To encourage faster adoption, the Secretary announced that HHS intends to allow doctors and hospitals to adopt health IT this year, without meeting the new standards until 2014. Doctors who act quickly can also qualify for incentive payments in 2011 as well as 2012.

For more information on how health IT can lead to safer, better, and more efficient care, and for a fact sheet about today’s announcement, visit http://www.healthit.gov/